Latch mechanism



sept. 23, 1952 R. C, CERF, JR 2,611,635,

Y LATCH MECHANISM Filed Dec. 30, 1948 2 SHEETS-SHEET l gg m59 ATTORNEYLATCH MECHANISM Filed Dec. so, 1948 2 SHEETS- SHEET 2 FIG. 5. FIG- 7 22423 22 66 23 H3 66 HO m` 29 L 2O 54 lo f 57 4o 6662 63 52 3o 524 34 4? n327 FIG. 8. H9 24 25 23 2e 2l FIG. l.

iNvENToR ROBERT C. CERF JR.

ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 23, 1952 ite-termi CrrgiJg-Lps Angel-admireassigner: fv Hommes-Hardware Mnufefrin'g bom-- l cnrrnia p'an'y; LimvA-"ngeiles-,LCalifi,V ai corporatioirofa.

i 1S:v This invention relates Lto' and in particular to, adorn'.lin'clo".ltt`chsethiagveL a push button type spindle locking means'fr'l'o'cking one knob against turningby a coaxiallpisl button intheopposite k'nob'.

The general object offthis invention iswtofprovide a door knob latch sety'inwhicl oneknob'. (for example, the outsideknob) maybe-lockedagairist.

rotation rby means. of. a Ycoaxial-'push button are ranged in theoppositeknobxon the insideof the door) which push buttonlmeans. is.releasab'lefrom'its pushed-impositionby;theturningfofgthev inside knob.Another objectl is: to provide; in1 addition, a .door knob Jlatch :setlnwhiehthelocking push button .isalsoreleasedl iiloeked-)f by`Vpushingin the latch bolt, :which movement would occur if the door wereaceidently, closedpwhenzthe. latch bolt would be pushed-inwardly:QuponstrikingE the striker plate Aefurtherrobjectiseto'provide in a doorknoblatch set:of:thekindldeseribedy supplementary means for thelreleaseofth'eflateh2 locking means from Vtheontsider in the eventi-anemergency opening-ofthe door. isf-requ-i-ied.4v

This type'door knob latchsetfis-fadaptedrparf' tcularly, for-example,for-euse on afbathroom door: which is to *be looked; froxnthe insidesand Whiclrf may be: unlocked -fromfthe.finsideebythef.:turning;y

of the insideknob.v v

These and otherobjects@ of; invention? are: attained by my invention:which: swllii f be; under;n f stood from theA following;descriititiorr,` reference:- being madev tothe@ which:

Figure` 1 is ra'zplan'zvi'ew' L'partltinnseetibrreand?. with portionsbroken away"torbettexffshowethe structure; i

Figure 21 issazplanf viewfpartlysirr;sectionand with portionsbrokerrawaythisiviewbeinge sinilarQT lpush but:

to that of Figure ll:excepttl'atitheioiitsider is 'shown inlo'ckediposition duel-tol-t e.

line 4-4 of Figure l" Figure 6 is a' fragmentarycrosssettionalviewFigure] 1o is az,perspective,disssemmy'viw" a dooriknonlttli" sersnowing tHeLou-tsid knob spinuilxiiigliii and' the emergency'relas'l-aadis bit retr-actiony means; iFigureiifisaperspectivelvievifof-'thelpshbiittonspindieioekingsleevasseib q I Figurel 1211511 agpartiai perspetiveyiew outside4 knob hun:and outside k-ifioispindleesil Figurer-i3 se parta pefspetive View*Ethe# insta-e knob riutifand inside know-spindle essere# bly? Figure14de-a' perspectivevievofffspr "gffiat unit; and

bI "dm" with a circumferential retaining key slot 4| which is arrangedadjacent a retaining key boss 42 on the kbearing sleeve 36 adjacent theend of the cylindrical outside half portion 22.

The outside spindle and the inside spindle 3l are each removably held intheir respective bearing sleeves 29 and 36 by the retaining keys 4i.

which are adapted to fit in the retaining key slots d 33 and 4|respectively, and in the circumferential key slots 35 and 43 providedrespectively inthe spindles 39 and 31, the spindle slots being longenough (for example, about 180 to permit the turning of the spindles fora suilicient amount to actuate the latch operating retractor 50. Theretaining keys 44 are each provided with holes 45 4 turn of either knobin either direction to thereby retract the retractor and with it thelatch bolt 59. The spring pressure causes the knob and spindle to returnto the neutral position after each turning.

The outside knob 3| and its spindle 39 are adapted to be locked againstrotation by means n of the locking tab 60 extending from theperiphthrough which is passed a hairpin spring 4S arranged to removablyhold the keys in place in the.

slots, the xed ends of the hairpin springs each being attached by ,ascrew 41 in a groove 40 provided inthe ends of the cylindrical halfportions 2| and 22. c A

The cavity inside the retractor body is adapted to contain the retractor50 which is a generally y rectangular shaped frame, which is provided atits middle portion with a thrust plate partition 5|, and at one end withopposed edges or lingers 52 whichare arranged adjacent the window 53 inthe cylindrical wall of the retractor body facing the spring latch unit54. rIhe fingers 52 are adapted to engage the latch bar 55 at thelopposed notches' 55.

The spring latch unit consists of a cylindrical housing 51 having aflush` plate 53 at the outer endthrough whichprotrudes the latch bolt59, with a coiledcornpression spring 69 between the inner end of thelatch bolt 59 and the opposite end closure plate 5| of the housing 51,so that the latch bolt isV normally thrust outwardly by the action ofthe spring. The spring latch unit is attached to the retractor body 20adjacent the may thus be positioned, as required for align' ment of theparts, along the window margins-` 93 and along the slot formed by theopposed edges or fingers.

The retractor 50'is mounted to slide between guides 66 on the inside endwall of the cavity,

and also on the aligning pin 61 which is clamped in the half cylindricalgrooves 58 in the aligning ery of the locking tab disk 8| which isrotatably mounted on the emergency release shaft 83 which in turn is:mounted within the outside tubular spindle 30, -The disk 8| serves tocentrally space therelea's'e shaft in the spindle 39. An emergency,semiecylindrical rollback 85 is at- Y tached to one end of the shaft 83by means of the tongue'86 riveted in the hole 81 in the end 94 of theemergency rollback member 85. There is also mounted on the shaft 83 aspacer 88 which abuts one end of a coil spring 89, `whose other endpresses against a Irotatable. centering disk S9, whichin turn abuts a'collar' 9|@on the end of the shaft 83. The end oi the shaft 83 adjacentthe collar is provided witha `coupling bar 92 which makes operativeengagement with a corresponding hole 93A in the emergency release plug93. The emergency release plug 93 is inconspicuously mounted for turningin a coaxial Y opening 3|A in the knob 3|, ai slot 82 adapted pin bosses1|) and 1| respectively in the outer half'portion 2| and the inside'halfportion Y22 of 12 through which the aligning pin 61 passes. The

purpose oi these detent tabs will be later Vdef scribed.

The outside tubular spindle 30 and the inside tubular spindle 31 areeach provided at its inner end with rollbacks 15 and 13 respectively. Arollback consists of the semi-cylindrical end portions of the tubularspindles, .the longitudinal edges 15A and 16A of which are adapted topress alternatively upon the upper face of'the'thrustfv plate partition5| of the retractor 50 so that said: retractor is pressed against thespring 69 by a" the disk V8| locks the rotation of the outside spindlewhen it is moved longitudinally into the locking groove 951which isprovided through the spindle '39 and in the coinciding groove 96 in thebearing sleeve 29.- 'The locking tab 80 is moved longitudinally by meansof the locking sleeve 98 which is'operatively connected to the pushbutton 91 by means of the connecting bar 99 which makes swivelconnection at |09 with one end of the locking sleeve 98.

The locking sleeve 93 in its central portion is out away in order toavoid interference with the reciprocatory operation of the retractor 50,and. in the longitudinal edges ofthe segmentof the cylinder remainingwhich is preferably less thanone-half of the cylinder, there areprovided de-A tent teeth |04 which are adapted to engage the raiseddetent tabs 13 previously mentioned, providedon the Vthrust'platepartition 5|. An elongated hole |92is provided through which the pin 61passes to permit longitudinal movementof the locking sleeve. The innerend of the locking sleeve 98 slidesover the emergency rollback. Theinner end of the locking sleeve 98 is provided with an opening |05 whichpermits limited rotational `movement of the locking tab therein, the end|06 of the opening being adapted to press directly against the lockingtab 80 against the spring 89 and thereby force the locking ,tab 89 intolocking groove95 inthe spindle 30'and the corresponding groove 96 in thebearing'sleeve 29.

The detent teeth |04 are held by the detent tabs 13 so long as theretractor 50 anditspartition plate 5| are in the out position V for thelatch bolt 59; When the retractor 50 is moved from the position by thepressing in of the latch bolt 59, or bythe turning of the outside knobrollback 15, or the `insideknob rollback 16, or by the emergencyrollback the teeth |04 become disengaged fromthe tabs 13, and thelocking sleeve 98, and its attached pushv button 91 are moved toward'theinside knob under the pressure of the spring 89, .restoring the pushbutton to the unlocked position. The endv |06 of the opening |95 in thelocking sleeve 98 upon this backward movement of the locking sleeve 98,a1-

lows the locking tab 89 to become disengaged from the grooves 95 and 95,so that the outside spindle 39 and its knob 3l are again free to turn tooperate the latch.

The cylindrical body 2li is attached to the door in which it is to bemounted by an attached clamping plate IIIJ on the outside, and aremovable clamping plate III on the inside, these clamping plates beingsomewhat larger in diameter than the mounting hole in the door, so thatthe outer margins engage the faces of the door. The attached clampingplate III) is provided with a central opening through which the bearingsleeve 29 extends, and is also provided with a window I I2 through whichthe boss 34 for holding the hairpin spring 46 and retainer key 44 of theoutside spindle 39 may pass. The clamping plate IIll is attached to thebody by two or more long-headed screws II3, whose ends are riveted overwashers IM on the outside of the clamping plate holes II5, the threadsof the screws I I3 engaged threaded holes I I6 in the outside halfportion 2I of the body, clamping plate screw bosses II'! beingpreferably provided on the end face of the outside body hall:` portion2I. The elongated heads of the screws II3 extend through unthreadedholes I I8 in the inside body half portion 22 being operable by thescrew driver slot in their heads, accessible from the inside end face ofthe body. A rosette I I9 is adapted to t over the clamping plate III)and frictionally engage it at the outer edges, the rosette having a nishhub IZl covering the .joint between the outside knob iinish hub 32 andthe bearing sleeve 29.

The removable clamping plate I II is also provided with a centralopening through which the inside bearing sleeve 36 extends, and is alsoprovided with a window I2I through which the boss 42 for the retainerkey M and its spring 46 may pass. The removable clamping plate III isattached to the face of the inside body half portion 22 by the screwsI22 in the threaded holes I23, the heads of the screws holding the plateagainst the face of the door around the mounting hole. This arrangementof an adjustable attached clamping plate II@ and a removable clampingplate III each independently attached to the body 26 permits theequalization of the spindle lengths on the two sides of the door. Theadjustment for diierent door thickness is made at the time ofinstallation.

The advantages of my improved bathroom door knob latch set have beenindicated inthe foregoing description. The rigid body and long bearingsleeves for the knob spindles provide a long-lived reliable locking andlatching knob set, in which the knobs do not become loose and wobble.The locked latch bolt is released simply by turning the inside knob ineither direction. The door cannot be accidently locked by unexpectedclosing. The emergency release from the outside is readily available,especially to release imprisoned children and others who are unable orunwilling to unlatch the lock.

I claim:

1. In a lock having an inner and an outer knob each having a separatetubular spindle with a rollback arranged to reciprocate a latchretractor by the turning of either knob, said inner knob having a pushbutton, means actuatable by said push button for clogging the outer knobagainst rotation, said means comprising a locking sleeve attached tosaid push button,V said sleeve being disposed in both of said spindlesand closely fitting the inside walls of said spindles, said lockingsleeve being longitudinally movable by said 'i push button for cloggingsaid outer spindle, said sleeve being cut away to a cylindrical segmentin the portion adjacent said retractor and being provided with detentteeth adapted to releasably engage said latch retractor, whereby saidlocking sleeve is released by latch-retracting movement of saidretractor and a lock tab disposed at the inner end of said sleeveadapted to be moved into position to dog said outside knob spindle whensaid sleeve is pushed inwardly by said push button.

2.v In a lock having an inner and an outer knob each having a separatetubular spindle with a rollback arranged to reciprocate a latchretractor by the turning of either knob, said inner knob having an axialpush button, means actuatable by said push button for dogging the outerknob against rotation, said means comprising a. locking sleeve rotatablyattached to said push button, said sleeve being non-rotatably disposedin both of said spindles and closely fitting the inside Walls of saidspindles, said locking sleeve being longitudinally movable by said pushbutton, said sleeve being cut away to a cylindrical segment in theportion adjacent said retractor and being provided with segment edgeswith detent teeth adapted to releasably engage said latch retractor,said retractor being provided with detent bosses co-acting withsaidteeth, whereby said locking sleeve is released by latch-retractingmovement of said retractor and a lock tab disposed at the inner end ofsaid sleeve adapted to be moved into position to dog said outside knobspindle when said sleevev is pushed inwardly by 1 said push button.

k3. In a lock having an inner and an outer knob each having a separatetubular spindle with a rollback arranged to reciprocate a latchretractor by the turning of either knob, said inner knob having a pushbutton, means actuatable by said push button for dogging the outer knobagainst rotation, said means comprising a locking sleeve attached tosaid push button, said sleeve being disposed in both of said spindlesand closely ntting the inside walls'of said spindles, said lockingsleeve being longitudinally movable by said push button for dogging saidouter spindle, said sleeve I and an emergency release shaft having arollback at its end adjacent said retractor and said cut away portion ofsaid locking sleeve, said release shaft being disposed inside saidlocking sleeve.

ROBERT C. CERF, JR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Y Name Date 1,991,031 schlage Feb. 12, 19352,076,125 Grimsrud Apr. 6, 1937

